Tag Archive: Will

Unequal Distribution to Heirs

I was working on an interesting estate planning case today and I thought I would get people’s opinion on the subject.  At the end of the day this client wants to leave his assets in an unequal distribution schedule to his three children wherein one of the children will receive the lion’s share of the…

Why I am Not A Big Proponent of Revocable Living Trusts

As I have mentioned before that in addition to my day job, and this blog I operate a very small law practice. In both my law practice and day job Revocable Living Trusts come up often, however, I am not a particularly big proponent of using them for one specific reason discussed below. What is…

What is Portability in Estate Planning?

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There were a lot of tax law changes (as well as a lot of things that were kept the exact same) when President Obama signed into law the Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation of Act of 2011, but there was one change that simply put, shocked me.  It was the brand new idea that…

Please Don’t Use an Automated System to Draft Your Last Will and Testament

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I can’t believe I haven’t written about this in 2 years of blogging, but I cringe every time I see a personal finance blogger recommend one of those Will preparation services/sites.  Every single week, I review at least 3 (and sometimes up to 10) Wills written by trained and licensed attorneys. While I find mistakes,…

Don’t Accidently Forgo Your Charitable Intent at Death

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Even those with strong charitable intents (religious or otherwise), actually fail to provide for the charities of their choice at death.  In essence their charitable intent is often ignored, and it is usually by mistake! I was reading a Last Will and Testament of a high net worth client the other day, and came across…

What is Intestacy? Don’t Let the State Determine Where your Assets Go!

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Regardless of whether you know it or not you have a Will – the Will is called Intestate Distribution and is determined by the State Legislature. When one dies without a Will it is often said he or she died intestate, and their Will enters Intestacy.  I am sure different parts of the country refer…